Grasslands Coalition Focus Areas

1. El Dorado Praries Focus Area
2. Golden Prairie/Dorris Creek Focus Area
3. Green Ridge Township Focus Area
4. Pawnee Prairie Focus Area
5. Prairie State Park/Shawnee Trail Focus Area
6. Horse Creek to Stoney Point Focus Area
7. Mystic Focus Area
8. Taberville Focus Area

El Dorado Prairies Focus Area

Coordinator Sharron Gough

Location St. Clair and Cedar Counties
Northwest of El Dorado Springs
Topographic Quads: Tiffin, El Dorado Springs North, Filley

Current Landscape
79% grassland, 6% cropland, 15% forest and tree lines, roads, farmsteads, etc.

Historic Landscape
Upland, Ozark border prairie over cherty silt loam soils derived from cherty limestone. The area contains three permanent springs and several woody draws. Very rolling.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 10,080 acres (= 16 sections)
Private land = 73%
Conservation Grasslands = 27%
Wah-Kon-Tah Prairie (MDC) 1040 acres
Mo-Ko Prairie (MDC) 420 acres
New Acquisition (TNC) & Forrest Tract (MDC) 1325 acres
2785 acres
Greater prairie chicken population
Historic - Never very abundant, but always had a small population.
Current - About 10 booming cocks verified in area in 1998.

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Dry-mesic sandstone/shale prairie, Northern crawfish frog, Henslow's sparrow, Prairie mole cricket, Northern harrier, Mead's milkweed, Regal fritillary, Upland sandpiper, Prairie chicken

Additional Information
About 6 landowners hold 40% of the area
About 27% of the area is in public management
Focus area is fairly isolated by trees beyond the boundaries of the FA. There is not much hope of connecting with other populations. Tree removal will be a major expense for opening up private lands for grassland wildlife.
No CAFOs apparent at this time.

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Golden Prairie/Dorris Creek Focus Area

Coordinator George Nichols

Location Southeastern Barton County
West of Golden City
Topographic Quads:

Current Landscape
25 % grassland, 70% cropland, 5 % forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape
Flat to rolling upland over sandy to silt loam soils. Three small lakes add to the wildlife diversity and attract waterfowl.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 29,000 acres (= 45 sections)
Private land = 96 %
Conservation Grasslands =4%
Golden Prairie (MPF) 320 acres
Dorris Creek Prairie (MDC) 160 acres
Pa-Sole Prairie (MDC) 240 acres
Treaty Line Prairie (MDC) 160 acres
Cook Meadow (TNC) 200 acres
1080 acres

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic - Present
Current Golden Prairie (35-40 birds observed January 1998)
Kenoma Flock (small, but booming males heard April 1998)

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area

Additional Information
Sparsely populated and future residential and commercial development unlikely.
Landowners generally dislike trees and most would welcome financial assistance in removing woody fence rows.

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Green Ridge Township Focus Area

Coordinators Kathy Cooper and Dennis McDevitt

Location Benton and Pettis Counties
1/2 mile north of Cole Camp on Hwy U then 1 mile west on county road.
Topographic Quads: Cole Camp, Lincoln, Bahner, Green Ridge

Current Landscape
58% grassland, 35% cropland, 7% forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape
Tallgrass prairie complex with few trees.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 41,600 acres (= 65 sections)
Private land = 96%
Conservation Grasslands = 8%
Paint Brush Prairie 314 acres
Mora Prairie CA 320 acres
Hi Lonesome Prairie 627 acres
Drover's Prairie 80 acres
Friendly Prairie 40 acres
Grandfather Prairie 78 acres
1459 acres

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic Good to excellent over entire area, dropping significantly in past ten years.
Current Declining but currently contains about 7% of the states prairie chicken population.

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Dry-mesic chert prairies, Mead's milkweed, Prairie mole cricket, Upland sandpiper, Henslow's sparrow, Regal fritillary, Royal catchfly, Northern harrier, Andrenid bee, Northern crawfish frog, Long-Tailed weasel, Joint grass

Additional Information
Established working relationship within the area, current program working, and interest just beyond PPW target zone. Prairie chicken populations hanging on. Management of public lands is geared toward chickens and maintaining the native prairie ecosystem.

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Pawnee Prairie Focus Area

Coordinators Randy Arndt and Tom Nagel

Location Harrison County
Northwest corner of county, ca. 6 miles west of Eagleville.
Topographic Quads: Hatfield, Pawnee, Washington Center, Brooklyn

Current Landscape
84% grassland, 10% cropland, 4% forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape
Uplands were open, rolling prairie. "Timber" comprised approx. 5% of unit (1300 acres), very similar to today and largely confined to drainages. Timber described as "scattering" in places.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 23,240 acres (= 33 full sections and 6 partial sections)
Private land = 86%
Conservation Grasslands = 14%
Pawnee Prairie (MDC)
Pawnee Prairie (TNC)
Dunn Ranch (TNC)

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic High, one of last northern Missouri populations into the 1960's.
Current 4 leks with 46 males in 1998. Expanding population.

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
No high quality hay prairies, but approximately 40% of area is pasture or hayland with substantial component of prairie plants.
Small acreages of Bur Oak Savanna with restoration potential.
5 listed animals-Prairie chicken, Henslow's sparrow, Upland sandpiper, Northern prairie skink, Regal fritillary.
3 listed plants - A thimbleweed, Silvery psoralea, Great St. John's wort.
Excellent potential for additional listed plants
Excellent grassland bird community.

Additional Information
Relatively large ownerships. Six exceed 640 acres, and approx. 80% of private land is in ownerships exceeding 320 acres.
TNC has designated the area as a high priority in their Ecoregional planning efforts.

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Prairie State Park/Shawnee Trail Focus Area

Coordinator Randy Haas

Location Barton County
North and south of Mindenmines
Topographic Quad: Mindenmines, Liberal

Current Landscape
40 % grassland, 53% cropland, 7% forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape
Rolling upland prairie over sandy and silt loam soils derived from shale and sandstone. Wet depressions, sandstone outcrops and ledges and a hawthorn savanna are features.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 22,780 acres (= 35.5 sections)
Private land = 69%
Conservation Grasslands = 31%
Prairie State Park (DNR) 3462 acres
Shawnee Trail (MDC) 3635 acres
7097 acres
Greater prairie chicken population
Historic The Shawnee Trail population reached a high of 68 birds in 1991.

The population had a brief rebound in 1995 to 47 birds from 34 the previous year, but has gone down progressively ever since.

Current - A current low of 19 birds in 1998.

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Northern crawfish frog, Henslow's sparrow, Northern harrier, Upland sandpiper, Prairie mole cricket, Regal fritillary, Mead's milkweed, Plain's spotted skunk, Southern prairie skink, Buffalo clover

Additional Information
There are 68 landowners in the focus area, with 15 having at least 320 acres or more ownership. 41% of the grassland total is in prairie or warm season grass plantings (10% of which is private ownership).

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Horse Creek to Stoney Point Focus Area

Coordinator Dennis Figg and David Darrow

Location Dade County
north and east of Lockwood
Topographic Quads: Lockwood, Golden City, Jerico Springs, Cedarville

Current Landscape
30% grassland, 55% cropland, 15% forest and tree lines.
Significant acres of remnant tallgrass prairie, although much of it has been overseeded with fescue.

Historic Landscape
Level to rolling tallgrass prairie. Woodlands and forests restricted to the riparian areas of Horse Creek (to the southeast) and Cedar Creek (north). Topography is level to gently rolling.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 23,680 acres (= 37 sections)
Existing private land = 95%
Conservation Grasslands = 5%
Stoney Point Prairie (MDC) 640 acres
Niawathe Prairie (MDC) 320 acres
PennSylvania Prairie (MPF) 160 acres
Horse Creek Prairie (MDC) 100 acres
1220 acres

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic - present
Current - More than 50 booming males in 1998


Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Mead's milkweed, Blacknose shiner, Northern crawfish frog, Henslow's sparrow, Northern harrier, A leaf beetle, Pairie mole cricket, A false foxglove, Royal catchfly, Dry-mesic sandstone/shale prairie, Buffalo clover, Regal fritillary, Greater prairie-chicken lek, Hardpan prairie

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Mystic Focus Area

Coordinator Larry Mechlin and Mike Jones

Location Sullivan and Adair Counties
Near the towns of Mystic, Winnegan and Sticklerville
Topographic Quads: Mystic, Winnegan, Pure Air

Current Landscape
85-90% grassland, <5% cropland, 5-10% forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape The proposed focus area is on the Unionville Upland Prairie Plain, a long ridge that extends from Iowa south through central Putnam County into Sullivan County. Trees are found in the deep drainages of this rolling landscape. The presettlement condition of Sullivan County was 49% prairie with an average of 1.5 miles in straight line distance between changes from prairie to timber and visa versa (Schroeder (1982).

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 8960 acres (= 14 sections)
Private land = 100%
Conservation Grasslands = 0%

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic The 1928-29 prairie chicken range included 12 north Missouri counties as reported by Aldo Leopold. Sullivan and Putman Counties were not among the 12 counties. The greater prairie chicken population that extended from Iowa south into Putnam and Sullivan counties became established and grew rapidly. By 1941 it was one of the most extensive and densest populations in Missouri (Schwartz 1945). This focus area represents a small portion of the 1941 range. The western portion of the focus area had a winter flock of 550 birds in 1941, and the eastern piece had a winter flock of 75 birds on the north end and numerous sightings in the south end from 1938-1943 (Schwartz 1945). The entire population of birds in Sullivan County essentially disappeared by the mid-1950s.
Current In 1998 the west area had 15 booming males and the east area had 27 booming males.

Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Shoop Prairie and Frank Oberle's prairie restoration is 2-3 miles east southeast of this focus area.
Additional Information
This population resulted from reintroductions that have done well to date. The time to restore populations is when the forces are in place for expansion as indicated by individuals currently present. A high percentage of the region is already in wildlife friendly grasslands. Sullivan County was one of the highest in the state for CPR acreage. The long term potential of this area is high for forage production. Many of the ranchers remember prairie chickens and are interested in the return of this species. Workshops have been well attended.

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Taberville Focus Area

Coordinator Norman Murray

Location St. Clair County
1/2 miles east of Appleton City on Hwy. 52
2 miles south on Hwy. A, 7 miles south on Hwy.. H
Topographic Quads: Taberville, Rockville

Current Landscape
70% grassland (25% native grass, 45% fescue) 25% cropland, 5% forest and tree lines

Historic Landscape
Upland, Ozark border prairie over silt loam soil derived from shale and sandstone. Sandstone outcrops, prairie mounds and native shrubs occur over the area. A spring-fed stream flows across the southwest corner.

Proposed Project Area
Total Area = 10,000 acres
Private land = 83%
Conservation Grasslands = 17%
Taberville Prairie (MDC) 1680 Acres
1680 Acres

Greater prairie chicken population
Historic
Current


Other Species/Natural Communities in the Focus Area
Brown bog sedge, Mead's milkweed, Auriculate false foxglove, Purple false foxglove, Geocarpon, Pale green orchid, Buffalo clover, Common leastdaisy, Yellow-eyed grass, Prairie mole cricket, Regal fritillary, Blacknose shiner, Northern crawfish frog, Greater prairie-chicken, Cooper's hawk, Northern harrier, Short-eared owl, Henslow's sparrow

Additional Information
None

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Would you like to become involved in a Grasslands Coalition project? If you live in the vicinity of one of the nine Grasslands CoalitionFocus Areas and would like to becomeinvolved in a Grasslands Coalition project, please contact Judy Gray at: grayj@mail.conservation.state.mo.us